The Performing Rights Society (PRS) Foundation is currently seeking applications for its Early Career Promoter Fund to support early career independent music promoters across England, helping them develop their careers, support artists and audiences and strengthen grassroots music ecosystems.
The deadline for applications is Thursday 9th July 2026 at 6pm.
The Fund’s focus is on:
o Supporting music events across all genres in England.
o Helping early career promoters develop skills and confidence.
o Building partnerships with venues, festivals, and music organisations.
o Developing new audiences.
o Enabling promoters to deliver events at a larger scale.
o Strengthening capacity and professional networks.
o Improving grant application skills.
o Addressing underrepresentation within the live music sector, and
o Encouraging the programming of a diverse range of artists and music genres.
Managed by PRS Foundation and supported by Arts Council England through Supporting Grassroots Music funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Fund offers grants of up to £3,500. The funding is designed to help emerging promoters expand their activities, increase their reach, and build sustainable careers within the grassroots music sector.
Funding can support the booking, programming, and promotion of gigs, concerts, club nights, showcases, tours, festivals, multi-venue events, and other performances. It can also contribute to venue hire, artist and DJ fees, crew costs, production expenses, promoter fees, administration costs, insurance, public liability expenses, PRS for Music costs, marketing and advertising activities, design and print materials, and digital promotion.
The Fund also supports capacity-building activities such as mentoring, coaching, shadowing opportunities, workshops, masterclasses, conferences, networking activities, and membership fees for relevant music industry organisations. Additional support may be used to develop audiences, improve accessibility, enhance production quality, promote environmental sustainability, and help promoters programme a broader and more diverse range of artists.
Funding cannot support events or tours taking place outside England, capital purchases such as vehicles or equipment, building work, studio construction, activities that would proceed without funding support, attendance at international events outside the UK, promotion of events outside England, charity fundraising events where proceeds are not reinvested into the grassroots music sector, or capacity-building activities for other members of a promoter collective.
Eligible applicants must be early career independent music promoters based in England. Applicants should be responsible for booking and promoting music acts at venues, festivals, club nights, showcases, concerts, tours, or other music events. There must be a clear funding need, and applicants must demonstrate how the support will help them build capacity and scale up their activities.
For more information, please visit the PRS Foundation website.
